These powers, along with the whirlwind, the ice blast, the trail of flame, and the stone armor that he can use during combat, are all the Prince needs to overcome the obstacles in The Forgotten Sands. The platforming and the use of magic are one of the strong suits of the game. Sadly, as exciting as the gameplay sounds, the experience is marred by some bad viewing angles and the fact that you can't move the camera around you freely, as we used to be able to do in previous titles. This is very frustrating when you're trying to plan the next jump or when you can't distinguish an ice wall from an ice column due to the side perspective provided. Pushing down the right analog stick re-centers the camera, and twisting it moves the camera around a bit, but not always offering the desired results.

Another negative note is the combat. It's really weak compared to what the Prince of Persia used to be. His attacks are very limited, and they're all performed with the same button. You can't even do combos, other than pushing the same button five times for a stronger attack or holding it down and letting go for a power attack. If you approach an enemy that's in the ground, you can finish him with the same button as well, but it's so far from satisfying, especially when you're used to the trilogy. There you could jump off a wall and crush the enemy, do fancy pirouettes in the air and finish him with a devastating blow, and so on. In The Forgotten Sands, this is barely possible. You can jump over their heads and hop in between them for an "aerial slash," and you can kick them or push them away, but that's the extent of this Prince's combat abilities. Later on, you can upgrade the aerial slash, getting a bit closer to what we're used to, but it takes a while to upgrade it if you want to keep a balance and increase your health and magic as well.

When you fight, you'll obtain red orbs for extra health, yellow for experience points, and occasionally blue ones that'll fill up one of your energy slots. This energy is what you use to rewind or perform magic attacks. If you want to increase their duration and effectiveness, you'll have to invest your yellow experience points into upgrades. This wasn't part of other Prince of Persia titles, but it's a tried-and-true formula that has always worked well. Of course, you almost don't even need these upgrades when you keep on fighting the same enemies, rarely breaking a sweat. There aren't even many bosses, and the ones you'll encounter require almost the same approach every time, leaving our expectations for epic boss battles behind.

A glitch in the game made my upgrades disappear when I was closer to the end, weakening the Prince's attacks and making me pay for upgrades all over again, but even still, I was able to finish the game just fine. While I assume Ubisoft will fix this with a future patch, I was quite disappointed due to the lack of polish that was obvious in this and other mistakes. Other glitches I encountered made platforms disappear at the wrong time while using the Power of Memory, making it impossible to advance in the game. Luckily, this problem was solved by turning off the console and restarting the game. I've also read there's a glitch that locks you up in a room when you fall in a certain area, forcing you to restart the game from scratch. Luckily, there seems to be a fix for this one, which simply requires you to go to your console's memory and delete the game save. When you reload the game, the backup save will take over, this time glitch-free, as long as you don't fall again.

Regarding the visuals, there's no complaint. The realistic style found in the POP trilogy brings back the authenticity to the franchise, and needless to say, the charm. The environments are full of detail, with true-to-life textures, wonderful architectural elements, and the Arabian Nights feel we've come to love. Everything looks great, save for the Prince's face, which, if you don't mind me saying, I find slightly unattractive.

As far as sounds, fans should be satisfied as well. The soundtrack is just right for this kind of adventure, matching the game's feel and theme perfectly. If anything, it may not have the wow factor other game soundtracks often have, but overall, it's still of high-quality and enjoyable. Same with the voice acting, which gives an excellent voice to the Prince, making players sympathize with his comments and sarcastic tone.

Unfortunately, between the camera issues, the couple of glitches found in the game, and the weaker combat style, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands fails to fully satisfy the fans. Luckily, this is not to say it isn't an enjoyable game. There's still plenty of action and plenty of fun to be had, as long as you can overcome these flaws. Like I said before, the level design and the platforming are possibly the best ever found in a game, and the puzzles are clever and satisfying, so you have to enjoy the game for what it has to offer and look past its blunders.

By
Maria Montoro
CCC Site Director

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

4.5

GraphicsEverything but the Prince's own face is inspiring and full of detail. The Prince of Persia has gone a long way, and the realistic visuals just work well for the franchise.

3.5

ControlThe weakest link of this title. Although the platforming is very well done, the combat is too basic and the camera controls can be frustrating.

4.2

Music
/ Sound FX / Voice ActingOverall, the orchestral soundtrack has its merits, matching the game's feel perfectly. However, there isn't a wow factor this time around. Voice acting is excellent.

Overall Rating -
GreatNot an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

Classic Gameplay Reinvented: From huge-scale multi-enemy combat to dizzying feats of acrobatic prowess in gigantic environments enhanced by the Prince's ability to control nature and time, The Forgotten Sands will push the Prince's prodigious abilities to a not-yet-seen level.

A Blockbuster Experience: With all-out war at the gates of the kingdom, the Prince's abilities will be challenged like never before through the course of epic wow moments, be it by scaling a castle tower collapsing under bombardment or combating foes hundreds of feet tall.

Mastery Over Nature: Wielding powers of nature and time, the Prince will have unparalleled mastery over his environment and his enemies. The Prince will discover that harnessing the forces of nature itself will prove to be a devastating companion to his ability to rewind time.

Better Than Ever: Powered by the Anvil Engine used for Assassin's Creed 2, The Forgotten Sands promises to bring a Prince of Persia experience like never before seen. Battle hordes of enemies at once, explore life-like settings, and experience a more powerful Prince.

Return of a Fan-Favorite Franchise: Set between Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time and Warrior Within, The Forgotten Sands provides fans with a new chapter in the saga of the Prince, and an opportunity to deepen their understanding of the events from this series.